Friday is go armed to Starbucks day

Gun owners across America plan to on Friday go armed to Starbucks outlets when getting their morning (noon and evening) coffee, as part of an “I Love Guns and Coffee” campaign, and a show of appreciation to the coffee giant for letting customers pack heat when it accords with state law.

“It’s a grassroots effort organized on Facebook,” said Jim Childers of Whidbey Arms, who laments that his his South Whidbey store is 40 miles from the nearest Starbucks outlet.

Starbucks has refused a bid by the Brady Campaign, the nationwide advocacy group supporting handgun control, that customers go unarmed to get their coffee. The “Starbucks Appreciation Day” is the second such event: The first was a “Gun Owners Support Starbucks Day” last February.

“This is just to show when you carry, you’re not only expressing your rights, but to show good guys carry,” Ed Levine, head of a gun rights group in Northern Virginia, told the Washington Post.

Childers said he hopes for a demonstration of strength from Washington to Washington.

“All that’s going on is that gun owners will be openly carrying guns, and flocking to Starbucks and thanking them for following local, state and gun laws,” he said. “It is up to individual people to show up and express their opinions. This is a rally not driven by any national organization.”

“In my opinion, it is a crime — and a human rights violation — to forbid this,” he added. “You are taking away an individual’s ability to protect himself or herself.”

Childers sells “I Love Guns and Coffee” vinyl stickers, and embroidered patches, showing the iconic Starbucks figure with a pistol in both hands. He also markets coffee mugs and T-shirts carrying the message. Starbucks does not endorse or promote his “parody products.”

Twelve states across the country have unrestricted “open carry” laws, and 16 others impose few restrictions. Washington is in the category of “mostly-carry” states with restrictions in a few such areas like packing heat on school grounds.

The Rev. Sandy Brown, senior minister at the Seattle First United Methodist Church, is an organizer of the Initiative 594 campaign that would require criminal background checks on guns purchased at firearms shows. Not surprisingly, Brown has a different take on the Starbucks controversy.

“I support the Moms Demand Action (for Gun Sense in America) effort to convince Starbucks to declare itself gun free,” said Brown. “I’m proud of Starbucks as a homegrown Seattle company, but its priorities are backwards in allowing guns in all its stores.”

Other firms are “more enlightened,” added Brown. “I think Seattle expects more from Starbucks than its fearful and timid stand.”

Jaime Riley, a spokeswoman for Starbucks, said: “We do recognize genuine passion on both sides of the carry issue.” She added, as well, that Starbucks outlets tend to be “gathering points for the community.”

“We do believe, however, that compliance with local laws is the best way to provide a safe environment for our customers and our employees,” said Riley. The company is “encouraging” its customers and those in “advocacy groups” to share views with their elected officials.”

Starbucks is not endorsing the “guns and coffee” effort.

In Connecticut, scene of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre last December — 20 first graders and six adults were killed — the Newtown Action Alliance has asked gun owners to take Starbucks Appreciation Day away from Newtown.

“Our community is still healing and we find it reprehensible that they are picking Newtown to rally,” the alliance said. “It is disturbing to think that tomorrow, you and your children may be sitting in Starbucks when people carrying guns walk through the door.”

The Facebook page dedicated to this has some pretty stark comments:

I’m going because it will piss off socialists and anti-self defense, anti-school security, anti-grandma protection, anti-gunner “I’m going to seek a non-violent solution if it kills me and everyone else.” types.